Plantain & Black Bean Fritters

I tried these at a tasting for the wedding and decided I had to learn to make them myself. I tried this recipe from Sara Moulton and modified it a little.

Ingredients:

• 3 black plantains
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• minced garlic

1.) Start by mincing the garlic and sauteing it a bit, then add the black beans and cover with water.

2.) Add the plantains to a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil.

3.) Eventually the plantains will start to split. Pull them out and mash them up. I would probably do this with a food processor next time. Add bread crumbs until dough is manageable. I used flour because I ran out of breadcrumbs, but I don't recommend it because it didn't cook entirely.

3.) Drain the black beans and onions. Put into a food processor and pulse into a paste.

4.) Mash into a kind of circle.

5.) Spoon black bean filling and shape into a fritter. Make more.

6.) Put oil in pan, fry fritters until delicious.

7.) Eat! Yummy!

(I think next time we might deep fry them. mmmmm.)

Healthy Macaroni and Cheese?

It exists! These are some modifications to an allrecipes recipe. I used fresh sweet potatoes which I just mashed up by hand - but you could either use canned, or put em in the slow cooker at the beginning of the day so you don't have to deal with boiling them and everything. If you do that, put the beans in with them. Adjust accordingly to make a two-person serving.

• 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg, or to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can white beans
  
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded, yellow sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded, white extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter

Procedure:
1. Boil water and cook macaroni. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk the evaporated milk and water into the flour mixture, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season to taste with red pepper flakes, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth, 10 or so minutes.
3. Grind white beans into a paste in the food processor, mix with mashed sweet potatoes. Once the sauce has thickened, add the sweet potato mixture to the sauce. Return to a simmer.
4. Add cheddar cheese and melt it. Then mix with pasta.
5. Put everything in a big dish. Cover with breadcrumbs. Cook for 30 minutes.

I love chinese food.

Yeah. The sweet and sour tofu was delicious.
The vegetables we used were mushrooms, peppers, and carrots. I wanted to use broccoli but somebody hates it. (In case you were wondering why we're not married, that's why.)

Black Bean Mac & Cheese

So what do you do when you are tired of leftovers, craving comfort food, dealing with final exams, and needing a bit of protein?
Make Black Bean Mac & Cheese! I was making mac and cheese with taco cheese and I was like - oooh, black beans would be good in this!
Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1/2 lb pasta
1 cup half-and-half
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup taco cheese

Procedure
1. Boil water, cook pasta.
2. Melt butter in a separate pan, add flour, stir together for a minute. Add the half and half. Let thicken.
3. Add half the cheese.
4. Drain the beans and the pasta. Cook the beans in the pasta pot for a second to warm them up and cook off excess water. Put in a pyrex dish. Pour cheese on top. Sprinkle more cheese on.
5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Next time I'm going to try adding crushed tortillas on top, and maybe a little salsa!